


pick up lines on coffee cups

by neogotmyheart



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Baristas, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Soft Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 08:12:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17700704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neogotmyheart/pseuds/neogotmyheart
Summary: after a new coffee shop opens right in-between your apartment and school, you meet the charming barista who has quite the collection of pick up lines. it’s not long before you can’t figure out if you’ve developed a caffeine addiction or a particular fondness for the boy behind the counter.





	pick up lines on coffee cups

**Author's Note:**

> you may or may not recognize this story from when i wrote it with an oc. its always been a favorite of mine so i wanted to revamp it and touch it up. the oc version will still be up just since it has a special place in my heart ♥

The little bells on the door rang as you and you roommate, Renjun, entered the new coffee shop by your apartment. You had previously always settled for cheap coffee made at home, but today Renjun suggested the two of you splurge and visit the new place that had opened up. The pair of you left with about an hour to spare before class started for fear the shop would be busy. Instead, you found that the shop was relatively empty. **  
**

“Wow so glad you convinced me to come an hour early. The place really looks like it could be at max capacity…” Renjun looked around and let out a low whistle.

“I only suggested it to be safe. You’re the one that even wanted to come. I was perfectly fine with sleeping in and drinking the coffee we make at home.” You weren’t the biggest fan of mornings and found you had a hard time waking up in the morning. The only reason you had a 9am was that it was the only time the class you had to have to graduate was being offered. Now, you stood in the middle of a coffee shop at 8am when you really just wanted to go back to sleep.

“The coffee you make at home always tastes burnt,” Renjun replied before stepping up the counter.

You rolled your eyes. “How do you burn coffee? You’re just picky.” You looked up to tease him but instead, your eyes met the barista’s behind the counter. He was easily one of the most attractive people you had ever seen and you think your heart may have melted when he smiled you.

“Sorry, she’s mute. She’ll have a-” Renjun began

“I’m not mute. I’ll just take a latte. Thanks..” You felt her cheeks turn red from Renjun suddenly putting you on the spot. You smiled and nodded at the boy behind the counter.

After you had paid, Renjun set out to find a table.

“You’re so embarrassing. I can’t take you anywhere.” You hissed at the boy next to her.

“Your infatuation with the barista was wasting my time.” Renjun teased as you sat down.

“I wasn’t infatuated. He was just really tall. And cute. And it caught me off guard, alright?” You folded your arms on the table, laying your head on them to hide from your shame.

“Sorry to interrupt I just… what did you order?” The cute boy was standing in front of you when you lifted your head to find the source of the voice.

“Me? Um, a latte?” You were a little confused. Renjun was the only other order he had to take besides yours, but he had managed to forget rather quickly.

“Right, duh, thanks.” He smiled again and turned to walk away. At this point, you were definitely staring. It was embarrassing to admit you were, but it was hard not to. He was tall and his shoulders were broad, filling in the t-shirt he was wearing. It was just tight enough to see the shape of his shoulder bones under the light material. His dark hair was a little bit long but it worked for him without looking dirty or overgrown. The light was hitting his face in just the right way to highlight his jaw and other strong facial features. It was also impossible not to notice the way his eyes shined even from across the store.

Renjun shook his head. “We’re like… the only ones in the store and he forgot that you ordered a latte of all things. I guess God doesn’t give with both hands.”

“You’re a monster when you wake up early. You can drink the coffee at home for all I care. He’s probably just nervous.” You spoke quietly.

“Maybe he thinks you’re pretty and wanted an excuse to come talk to you. If that’s the case, I’ll give him a little bit of a break.” He laughed as your cheeks turned shades once again.

“Shut up! He’s coming back. I swear if you embarrass me again, I’m moving out.” You threatened. You knew that shooting him a glare wouldn’t do much seeing as Renjun hardly ever took you seriously.

The guy handed Renjun his coffee and then turned to you once again. “I know you ordered a latte. I didn’t forget again. I just wanted to let you know that I’m… um… I’m having a little bit of trouble with the machine. But!” He put his hands up as if to prevent you from interrupting. “I’m working on it. I’m determined to get this figured out.”

“Are you the only one here?” If he needed help, surely he could ask anyone else who was on the shift.

“No. There’s one other person. I just hate asking for help when they’ve already shown me how.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I just didn’t want you to think I forgot again or something.” He turned and walked away from their table for the second time before you stopped him, wanting to make his job just a little bit easier.

“Actually, can I just get an iced coffee? It’s what I always get. I’m not really sure why I thought to order a latte.” Surely iced coffee would be easier than what you had previously ordered, even though you didn’t think that lattes were too terribly difficult.

“That I know how to make.” He smiled and went to go make the iced coffee.

Despite still not having your coffee, you couldn’t find it in you to care.

“This is why you should just stick to what you always get. This was the world telling you not to try and change things up.” Renjun pointed a stirring straw at you before taking a sip of his Americano. “Sure is a good thing we came an hour early.”

“He’s doing his best, Junie, please. It’s only been 15 minutes anyway. Can’t you do some homework instead of continually complaining?” You groaned.

“I did it all. Unlike you, I take care of the stuff as soon as possible. Hey, if you get your coffee soon, we can go sit under our tree. We haven’t been in forever.”

“Because those people started always getting there before us and they stole it so we moved to where Jeno and Jaemin hang out.” You said, gathering little cups of half and half and packets of sugar, making a small pile.

“Yeah but I hate the couch in the commons. It’s so loud, no matter what time it is.” He swirled his cup

“I know. I hate it too. I can’t focus. It’s already hard for me to get work done and then you add a bunch of people talking and I just want to listen.” You pushed everything you needed for your coffee together, making a small pile. “Maybe we can start hanging out here?”

“You’re only saying that because you think that boy is cute.” Renjun teased. He looked like he was about to say something else before he realized the boy was back.

“Here’s your coffee. I.. um left room for creamer because I saw your collection. Have a good one.” He walked away quickly, but you noticed that the tips of his ears were red meaning he probably heard Renjun’s comment.

“So, he definitely isn’t dumb and he definitely thinks you’re pretty. How else would he have noticed your stack of an unhealthy mess unless he was watching you.” Renjun pointed out.

You mixed your creamer and sugar in and noticed there was writing on the cup.

_Thanks for being patient with me._

A smile graced your face upon reading the little note on the cup. You found it sweet and were determined to hide it from your rather opinionated roommate for as long as possible.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Nothing, let’s just go to our tree that you’re so eager to sit under.” You teased and got up, throwing your trash away.

When you got to campus, you still had about 40 minutes before class started. The coffee shop was conveniently close to campus and the coffee actually was good. The cute boy was just a small perk. You approached what Renjun deemed to be your tree to find Jaemin and Jeno already sitting under it. Jaemin was laying with his head on Jeno’s thigh and was pointing at something above him before Jeno spotted them and waved.

“Hey Jun, when you text me ‘sit under our tree! now!’, know that I need more information than that. There’s trees everywhere. This was just the first big tree that Jaems saw.” Jeno then greeted you more traditionally.

“I like this tree though. It has nice grass. I could take a nap here.” Jaemin said. “That’s really why I chose this one. I didn’t know if it was your tree, but it was going to be mine. And good morning ___. You look pretty today.”

“She thought the barista was cute but didn’t flirt with him. It was pitiful truly.” Renjun groaned.

“Look’s to me like he thought she was pretty cute too. Her cup says ‘Thanks for being patient with me’ with a cute little smiley face.” Jaemin pointed.

“So that’s why you started smiling. I can’t believe you weren’t going to say anything.” Renjun shook his head and laid down, resting his head on his backpack.

Jeno let out a slow whistle before looking at you. “Are you gonna go back?”

“I don’t know, probably. The coffee is good.” You shrugged.

“He left room for her creamer because he saw her mountain of sugar and half and half on the table.”

“Yes, I’m sure it’s just the coffee.” Jeno nodded. “Very convincing. Every time Renjun tells us more, I am further convinced it’s purely for the coffee.”

“Why am I friends with you three.” You sighed.

“Because we’re nice to you,” Jaemin said.

“No, Jaemin, you’re the only one that’s nice to me.”

Jaemin scrunched his face. “Oh. Then why are you friends with those two?” Jaemin let a small smirk appear when he saw Renjun lunge, only to be stopped by Jeno.

“You should start going a couple times a week and see if he says anything. He was bold enough to write on your cup, maybe he’ll do it again.” Jaemin yawned. “Jeno, I need you to stop dragging me to school early just because you don’t want to walk alone.”

“I never even wake you up? You’re usually the one waking me up saying it’s time to go.” Jeno retaliated.

“Am I?” He closed his eyes and shifted a bit before looking like he was ready to take a nap. Jeno rolled his eyes, but he didn’t seem too bothered by waking up early or he would probably be trying to sleep too.

“Jaemin is probably right. Maybe, he’ll be more forward next time if you go again.” Jeno leaned back and propped himself on his elbows. “What’s there to lose. It’s not like it’s your favorite coffee shop. If you embarrass yourself, you can just stop going. Go in a couple of days.”

* * *

You went in the next day and were greeted by the boy from the other day. His smile was somehow prettier than you remembered.

“Hi.” You were supposed to order and all you said was hi?

“Iced coffee right? Room for cream?” He asked

“Um yeah actually. That would be great… How did you-”

He interrupted, “I remembered. Um.. yeah. Anyway. I’m Yukhei.” He looked nervous. It was cute. A lot about him was cute.

“___.” She smiled.

After you paid, you decided that maybe you could be bold and sit at the bar that overlooked the barista’s work area.

“You’re by yourself today, I guess?” He asked while starting to make her drink. You were one of four people in the shop. You hoped they stayed busy enough to at least stay open.

“Yeah, I came after class but my roommate has a few more classes for the day.”

“Roommate? I kinda figured he was a boyfriend.” He cleaned a few dishes waiting for a new pot of coffee.

“No. We’ve been best friends for a few years. Living together was more for convenience than anything.” You shrugged. “I think we would kill each other if we dated.”

“That’s nice that you are that close. I’m not really close friends with any girls, so I thought your dynamic with him was really cool.”

“Thanks. He’s a nice guy.” You smiled and looked down. Renjun appeared a bit rough around the edges, but if he cared about you, it really showed.

“Really? He honestly scared me.” Yukhei turned and grabbed a cup and began to put ice in it.

The thought of the boy being scared of your roommate made you laugh. “You’re like twice as big as him.”

“He has this… this gaze. Like ‘I’m going to kill you in your sleep’.” He looked as if he was doing his best impersonation of it, but he just looked ridiculous. You found yourself laughing again. He had a natural goofiness about him that drew you in like a magnet.

Your laughter subsided long enough to give a response. “He does do that sometimes.”

“But!” He pointed the cup at you. “You’re nice and you live with him so he has to be at least kinda nice.”

“I’m glad that you think I’m nice. I’m touched.” You started to gather your creamer and sugar into a pie when you saw Yukhei pouring the coffee into the cup.

“I like your preparation pile. It’s cute.” He let out a small chuckle and handed you your drink. “Your iced coffee.” Another customer walked in, drawing his attention elsewhere. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

You nodded and began the very intense procedure that came with doctoring your coffee to your liking. Once the coffee was a lighter color, you once again noticed writing on the cup.

_If you were a chicken, you’d be impeccable._

It was so bad that it earned a small giggle. You got up from the bar and started walking home, trying to suppress the smile on your face the whole way.

When Renjun got back, you had fallen asleep on the couch and awoke to find him holding the coffee cup from earlier, the ice almost completely melted.

“If you were a chicken, you would be impeccable, huh?” He asked, a smile slowly growing.

You covered your face and screamed. “Oh my god leave me alone! You’re worse than my mother.”

Renjun laughed and sat the drink back down before walking around the table to sit next to you. You curled your legs into your chest in order to give him room to sit. “So, what did you say after he left this um… cute… note?”

“Was I supposed to say something?” Your eyes grew wide after realizing you had just left after reading the cup.

“___, do not tell me you left.” Renjun was raising his voice. “Oh my god! You left without saying anything! I thought the pick up line was dumb, but you’re even dumber!”

You groaned and leaned back against the arm of the couch. “I’m so stupid. I felt so like… giddy when I saw it and I just left.”

“You gotta go back and talk to him. I don’t know why I’m encouraging you when this is his flirting tactic,” he gestured to the cup. “But I refuse to let a cute boy hit on you and you do nothing. You’re going in Saturday morning and you’re going to hope and pray he’s there.”

So you went Saturday. You didn’t exactly make it in the morning… It was closer to lunch time when you heard the bells jingle overhead. There was actually a line in front of you and you were happy to see that they were actually getting business. You were also a little bit upset realizing this wasn’t the optimal environment to sit and talk to Yukhei like you did a couple days ago. You were even more upset when Yukhei wasn’t the one to take your order. In fact, you didn’t even see Yukhei. You chose to sit at the bar anyway and took out her phone.

_you: junie he’s not here_

_Evil Devil Monster: Then get your coffee and come back._

You put up your phone just to find Yukhei handing you your coffee. “Wish I could talk but it’s actually getting busy. Have a good one, ___.” He smiled at her and walked away before you could even have the chance to say anything in return. You added your creamer and sugar and turned the cup to look for any writing.

_I wish I was cross-eyed, so I could see you twice._

This earned a full laugh. You didn’t know if it was from the ridiculousness of the line or if it was because you really didn’t think Yukhei was here today. You looked up and saw Yukhei’s back turned. His ears were red and when he turned to walk to the back, he had a smile on his lips.

You made your way back to her apartment, coffee in hand. Renjun would give you a hard time about still not saying anything but at least you went and had the excuse of it being busy. You walked in their door to find Jaemin cooking and Jeno on the couch with Renjun playing video games.

“Okay, I was not gone that long. Why does it look like the two of you moved in.”

“That would be so much fun! We should consider that.” Jaemin said excitedly, turning to meet her. “Jeno, what do you say?”

“No.” He answered bluntly. You walked over to the counter and hopped up to sit close to where Jaemin was cooking.

“Whelp, nevermind then. How’s the coffee shop boy, ___?” His smile filled his face. There was a knock and the door to which Renjun responded, “Yeah, it’s open.” Jaemin’s girlfriend came in, prompting the already present smile to grow even wider. You had met Emily a few times and really liked her. Jaemin seemed to glow around her. Plus, she was funny so the mood was always light when she was around.

“Emily, we already have a controller out for you,” Jeno yelled as Emily made her way over to Jaemin.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Emily yelled before hugging Jaemin. “Hey, Nana.” Jaemin kissed her forehead.

“Just in time. ___’s giving me an update on the coffee shop boy.” Jaemin kept an arm around her waist but turned his attention back to the pot on the stove.

“Oh, yeah! Jaemin was telling me about that. Did you ever go back and see him?” Emily had a hand wrapped around his back and resting on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I went the other day and we talked for a bit.” You kicked your legs aimlessly as you sat.

Renjun yelled from the living room, “And he left a lame ass pickup line on your cup!”

“What did it say?” Jaemin asked

Before you could answer, Renjun was already shouting, “If you were a chicken, you’d be impeccable.” You could here Jeno laughing in the living room.

“I like that actually. It’s funny.” Jeno told him.

Jaemin then noticed the writing on your current cup. “Jeno! I think you’re going to like this one better!”

“What is it?” Jeno paused the game which earned an annoyed “Hey!” from Renjun.

He picked up the cup and turned it to better read the writing. “I wish I was cross-eyed, so I could see you twice.” He looked down at his girlfriend. “I should have used something like that on you, angel.”

Emily groaned. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

Jeno was now laughing in front of them after making his way into the living room. “Okay, I love these. Where can I meet this guy?”

“Jeno, you can’t be serious. That one was worse than the first one! Maybe you should date him.” Renjun grumbled and walked back to the living room.

Jeno followed, “Nah, I’m good. I think he’s interested in ___ anyway.” He yelled back towards the kitchen. “Hey, every time you get one of those, I want a picture. That’s incredible.” You heard the game pick up again and was relieved to be able to just talk to Jaemin and Emily.

“Seems to me like he thinks you’re pretty cute,” Emily said before taking the bite of food Jaemin was offering her. She nodded and Jaemin was smiling once again. “He keeps writing on your cup. Have you said anything?”

“No, it was really busy today. He said he couldn’t talk and walked away.” You took a sip of your drink.

“Just keep going after your 9am. It seems to be pretty slow then.” Jaemin said. “Maybe you’ll get something you can give an answer to instead of just… the pick up lines. It’s a cute idea but it doesn’t give you a lot of room for response.”

“It makes me so nervous and I don’t even know why.” You leaned your head back against the cabinets behind you.

“Because he’s cute and he’s flirting with you,” Jaemin said bluntly.

Emily agreed with him, “Seems like plenty to be nervous about to me.”

“Were you nervous when I flirted with you?” Jaemin asked, smirking.

She just sighed, “Don’t be all mushy in front of ___. But yes, I was very nervous.”

“I was nervous too, it’s okay.” Jaemin laughed and kissed her cheek.

“I agree with Emily. Don’t do this in front of me.” You acted annoyed but they really were sweet to each other. Emily eventually left Jaemin’s side to go play whatever game Jeno and Renjun had on.

Jaemin was soon lowering his voice. “I really was nervous. She’s so pretty and funny and I had no clue if she even wanted me flirting with her. I mean, I made it pretty obvious I was interested. She didn’t really respond at first, just kept talking to me when she didn’t have to. That was the only reason I got up the nerve to ask her on a date. I thought that there could be a small chance she liked me if she kept hanging out with me when I was so forward with my feelings. So maybe, if you just keep going to get coffee, he’ll see that you’re interested even if you don’t respond to the pickup lines. There’s a million other shops around campus you could choose to go to but you keep choosing that one and talking to him.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, just thinking out loud.”

“No, I think you’re right. I’ll stop by after class on Tuesday.” You hopped off the counter. “Thanks, Jaems, I appreciate it.”

He nodded and smiled in response. “Sure thing. Now go get our annoying friends and my angel of a girlfriend. Lunch is ready.”

* * *

You found herself walking into the coffee shop again on Tuesday morning. You were greeted by Yukhei’s deep voice, followed by a bright smile once he saw that it was you. It sent a warmth through her chest. “Hey! How are you?”

“I’m good. A little sleepy.” You answered honestly. You had a hard time sitting through class this morning.

“Good thing you’re getting coffee. Do you want the usual?” He was still smiling at you, perfectly white teeth on display. The sight made your heart skip a bit.  
“Yeah, thanks.” You moved to sit at the bar.

“How was class?” He asked.

“It was boring but it’s okay. Hey, I always see you here in the mornings. Are you taking any classes?” You didn’t know if it was weird to ask. What if he wasn’t in school? It was just something you had wondered since you see him working, even the mornings you don’t go in.

“Yeah. I just have all my classes in the afternoons because I hate mornings. Then I got this job, and now I work every morning. I’m kinda glad though because apparently afternoons and nights are really busy because students study here.” He filled a cup with ice and got it ready for the coffee when it was done brewing.

“Well, I’m glad you’re getting business. And I’m not really a morning person either. It’s just this one class that was only available as a 9 am.”  
“That’s the worst. I hate when that happens. At least you’re done for the day now.”

“So, I guess you have a couple classes today?”

“Yeah, just two. They’re back to back, so I’ll get off at noon to make it to my 12:30. Then I’ll be done with my whole day by 3.” He poured the coffee and handed it to her, being sure to avoid messing up her pile of supplies.

“Honestly, that really isn’t bad. I wouldn’t mind that.” You said as you began to pour creamer and sugar into her drink.

“I have a few things to work on in the back, but I’ll see you later.” Before you could say anything, he had already walked behind the curtain. You turned her drink to find writing once again.

_If I were to ask you out on a date, would your answer be the same as the answer to this question?_

You grabbed a napkin and scribbled yes, leaving it on the bar. The entire walk home, you tried to calm slightly shaky hands. When you walked into her apartment, she found Renjun sitting on the couch. “Hey, class was cancelled. You went to the coffee shop?” He asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah…” You answered quietly. He couldn’t give you a hard time because you did leave an answer on the napkin.

Renjun grabbed your cup and took a picture, presumably sending it in their group chat. “You know, this one’s kind of clever. I like it. You left your number right?”

You widened your eyes, “No… Should I have? I left an answer on a napkin. I said yes.”

“How is he supposed to ask you out on a date if you don’t leave your number? You’re absolutely helpless.” Renjun slumped against the couch.

“I at least said something this time!” You shot back. “I’m going to my room. You’re mean.” You dropped onto you bed and felt your phone going off.

_Evil Devil Monster: (one attachment)_

_Evil Devil Monster: And! She didn’t! Leave! Her! Number!_

_Jaems: Say it ain’t so…_

_Jeno: Come on. I’m starting to root for this guy. Give him some kind of sign_

_You: I wrote yes on a napkin and left it!!!!!! I at least did something!!!!!!_

_Jeno: But how is he supposed to like… I don’t know… text you… without your number?_

_Evil Devil Monster: That’s what I said!_

_You: I DID MY BEST OKAY NJKDSFHJ_

_Jaems: No need to yell and keyboard slam. But please, stop making this boy do so much work._

_Jaems: I’m sending this to em_

_Jeno: Just add her to the chat. You always tell us what she says anyway_

_You: yes please add her. i need another girl in here_

You threw your phone before even checking the rest of the texts messages.

* * *

On Thursday, you went into the shop again. Yukhei was once again, thankfully, working the front. It was to the point that you weren’t sure if you should blame your five visits in two weeks on a caffeine addiction. You were greeted by a smile once again.

“I was hoping you’d come in.” He took out an iced coffee already made and handed it to you.

“Wow, I’m impressed. But, should I be concerned that I come in too much if you know when and what day to have my coffee ready?” You realized that your frequent visits may be overkill and silently hoped you didn’t seem desperate.

“No. I like seeing you. Even if it’s just for a couple minutes.” He had gotten bolder since the last visit. You wondered if it had anything to do with the response that you left on the napkin.

“That’s good to hear since I come in so much.” You laughed and made your way to your usual spot at the bar. Just when her coffee was to her liking and she was turning the cup to look for writing, Yukhei was called back to the back.

“I guess I’ve been avoiding my responsibilities for too long. I’ll see you. I was actually hoping to get to talk to you today, but I guess not.” He ran his hand through his hair before walking to the back.

_I seem to have lost my number. Could I have yours?_

You wrote her number on a napkin, took a picture of both and began your walk home.

_You: (one attachment)_

_Evil Devil Monster: thank the *%$^ing lord_

_Emily: yay you did it!_

_Jeno: man he really spelled it out for you this time_

_You: I should have just left my number the first time_

_Jaems: I mean… yeah_

_Emily: yep_

_Jeno: yes_

_Evil Devil Monster: obviously_

_You: i think i would have gotten the point if just one of you said it…_

You got home and were able to go to you room without a disturbance from your roommate or possible random visitors. While working on your homework, your phone began going off again.

_Unknown: is this ___?_

_You: Yes… is this Yukhei?_

_Yukhei: Presumptuous of you to think I would text you as soon as I could_

_Yukhei: Even though that’s exactly what I did_

_You: cute. I’m glad you did_

_Yukhei: You happen to be free tomorrow for dinner?_

* * *

You found herself pacing in front of your friends. You had been ready an hour early and had been stirring with nerves. “I don’t even know this guy. What am I doing. And are all of you gonna be here when he gets here?”

“Renjun told us to come over for movie night. I didn’t know your date was so soon. Also,” Emily said. “That’s kinda the point of the first date… to get to know each other.”

“You’re so smart, angel” Jaemin grabbed her hand and smiled at her.

Renjun grimaced. “God, you two are so gross. Emily could spit on your face and you would probably spend 30 minutes talking about how it was a gift.” Jaemin just shrugged in response.

“Wow guys, you’re really helping ___. She looks like she feels better already.” Jeno said sarcastically. You looked the opposite of relaxed as you moved to sit. You leaned forward in your chair, head in your hands.

“Look, I’m sure it’ll go great. You’ve already talked to him a few times and he seems nice. He obviously thinks you’re cute. The worst that could happen is that you don’t really click like you thought. If that happens then, oh well.” Jaemin said.

“He’s right. Just go. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, whatever. It’s honestly a dream case scenario. You don’t know the guy so you won’t have to worry about it being awkward when you see him.” Jeno added. They were both right. It wasn’t like you had to go get coffee there. Iced coffee was pretty easy to make at home. Plus, you never saw him on campus. This really was the dream set up.

You sighed. “Okay. I just… are you gonna embarrass me when he gets here? And do I even invite him in?”

“Renjun will embarrass you.” Jeno mumbled which earned him a punch in the arm. “Ouch. Okay, just say your roommate has his weirdo friends over for movie night. I think it’s okay to not introduce him to your closest friends before the first date.”

“When he gets here, just slip out the door. The living room is right next to the door. We’ll turn all the lights off and have a movie going so when you open the door, it’ll look like we’re busy.” Emily suggested.

“That’s a lot of pretending when we could just actually watch a movie since it is movie night..” Renjun grumbled.

Emily sighed, “But, we aren’t actually going to be watching the movie until ___ leaves. You, specifically, will be waiting and nervous until she leaves. Jeno and Jaemin both wanna try to see the guy. I’ll be the only one trying to calm her down. We’ll have to restart the movie, so we might as well just put on something we don’t care about til he picks her up.”

“I approve of this one. We finally have someone who can properly argue against Renjun.” Jeno laughed.

They heard a knock on the door. “Now what?” Jaemin asked.

You got up and left before they had a chance to formulate some ridiculous plan. It was probably incredibly awkward to crack the door, slip out, and immediately close it behind her, but you weren’t going to throw Yukhei into the fire that is your friend group just yet.

“Well, hello.” Yukhei towered over you. You didn’t realize just how tall he was when he was behind the counter. When you were sliding out the door you had ended up with your face nearly in his chest. “I take it you’re ready to go?”

“Yeah, sorry. My roommate invited all our friends over for a movie night. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to meet all of them right away.” You admitted.

He laughed. “I appreciate that. I was nervous enough about seeing you. I would really need to prepare before meeting all the friends. I don’t care what you say. Your roommate is scary.”

“Renjun’s really not that bad, I promise.” You let out a small giggle.

“How did you decide to be roommates?” He asked

Thinking about how to word it, you started slowly. “I don’t want to make it sound like we lived together because we had to but that’s how it played out. Our friends Jeno and Jaemin offered to let both of us stay with them but it would have just been a lot with all four of us under one roof. Renjun and I have been just about inseparable since becoming friends. It’s nice but it was kind of social suicide. We were lucky we met two other people that were similar to us. We didn’t have other friends except each other and we couldn’t afford to live alone, so we’re living together. It’s worked out well honestly. We hang out when we want, but we can also just sit in silence I guess. It’s easier for him to do that then me. Sorry that was probably a lot more than you were looking for.” You were a little bit embarrassed by your lengthy response, not realizing you had ended up rambling.

Yukhei smiled down at you. “I asked. I wanted to know. I like long answers better than short ones. Makes it feel like you actually want to have to conversation.” He opened to door to lead out of your complex. “Besides, I talk a lot so I can monopolize the conversation if I’m with someone that doesn’t talk.” It was reassuring. You also talked a lot so you understood what he was saying. Hopefully with the two of you, there wouldn’t be awkward silence tonight.

“Well, what about you. Do you live alone?”

“I have my roommate. It was kind of a similar situation. All of our friends had already paired off and we didn’t think we could live with more than 3 total people so it was just us. It worked out though because I can’t really picture living with anyone else. We just kind of work. I think if I would have lived with someone else, our friendship would have been ruined. I’ve been told I can be a lot but, Mark matches my energy a lot of the time.” A small smile had graced his face by the end of his response and you found it sweet that he talked to highly of his friend.

“That’s really nice. Me and Renjun balance each other out, I guess? Like he mellows me out and I get him to not be a total recluse by making him go and do stuff with me. I bet it’s nice to have someone that compliments you though.” You realized that you were just walking with a boy you didn’t know to somewhere you didn’t know. “Where are we going?”

“Oh! Sorry, I should have mentioned that.” He ran his hand through his hair. “There’s this restaurant near the coffee shop. Totally forgot what it’s called but I’ve been wanting to try it for awhile.” You knew what he was talking about seeing as you walked past it every day on the way to class.

“The small cafe, right? The one that looks like it’s dead all the time?”

“Yes! That one. I wanted to actually be able to hear you when we talked so I thought it would be a good place since it’s never very busy.” It was sweet that he even took something like that into consideration. He really did seem to want to talk to you and get to know you and you appreciated that.

The two of you got to the cafe and were sat in a back corner. There were only a few other couples eating and they all seemed pretty spread out.

“I guess I never asked you the few times you came to the shop, but what are you studying?” He asked flipping through the menu.

“Early childhood education. I really want to be a kindergarten teacher.”

He looked up at her surprised. “Wait, Really?”

“Yeah… Do I not seem like I would like kids?” You had usually been told that you’re great with kids.  
“No, it’s not that at all. That’s just exactly what I’m going to school for. I can’t believe I haven’t seen you around before.”

“You want to be a kindergarten teacher?”

“Yeah! I’ve never really been one for a desk job. I want to be doing something all day and I love kids. Kindergarten seems like a great place for me. I’ll be teaching but I want to make it fun so it’s more like a game.” He was beaming just from talking about it. You rarely saw people this excited to be teachers. Their passion usually died out halfway into their education. It was exciting to see someone just as eager to begin teaching as you were.

The two of you passed different teaching ideas back and forth after ordering your food. You realized pretty quickly that he really did want an active classroom with a lot of activities. He seemed to really care about the fact that they’re just kids and making them sit all day long was cruel. You admired his reformative ideas and even asked if you could use a few in your own classroom. A few ideas were more out there like not having desks, just bean bags. Nevertheless, you were inspired by his beliefs. He was creative and energetic and really seemed to understand children’s mindsets. He was animated and excitable and a lit up the room with his smile. This side of him was different compared to the subdued boy behind the counter, but you could honestly say you preferred the boy in front of you now.

“I get told I would be a good teacher because I’m still a kid myself.” He laughed a little bit.

“I mean… maybe…” You teased lightly, ”but, I think any kid that gets you as a teacher will be happy. Your classroom sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.” He smiled brightly. “But, really. Why haven’t I seen you around before. We’re in the same major.”

“I’m sticking to the exact plan they gave me. It’s too stressful to try and figure out what to take and when. I just use the advisor’s premade plan.” You shrugged.

Yukhei laughed again. “That’s exactly what I did. We won’t ever have overlapping classes if we’re both following that plan. I’m guessing I’m a year above you?”

“Yeah. I’m a sophomore.” You reached to take a sip of your drink only to find that it was completely empty. “Hey, not to change the subject but have you seen our waiter lately.”

Yukhei looked confused. “Honestly, I haven’t. I feel like we ordered a while ago.” He checked his phone. “We definitely ordered an hour ago. Why did it take so long for us to notice?”

“I don’t know. I was honestly just talking to you, so I wasn’t really thinking about food.”

He chuckled. “Cute. I wasn’t really thinking about food either. But what do we do? Sneak out?”

You considered it. Sneaking out felt a little rude but as you scanned the small restaurant, you couldn’t find any waiter, much less your own. “If we stay here until we see a waiter, we may never leave. Plus, all we got was water so we aren’t skipping out on a bill.”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself because I think we should just leave. I hate doing it but I actually am hungry now that I’ve thought about it.” He slid back his chair and cautiously got up before lowering his voice. “Now what we’re going to have to do is act like super spies. We’re gonna sneak out of here so no one notices. I suggest army crawl.”

You started laughing before Yukhei shot you a warning glare and you slapped your hands over your mouth. “I think that will draw more attention to us if we make a big deal of sneaking out.” You whispered, slightly playing along with his game.

He stood up straight and sighed. “I know you’re right, I’ve just always wanted to be like James Bond. I think I would be a great undercover spy.”

“Maybe we can fulfill your dream another time. I don’t think sneaking out of an almost empty restaurant will give you the thrill you’re looking for. Let’s go.” You nodded towards the door, but he wasn’t budging. Instead, he was giving you a small pout.

“What if… I made you my partner. Then we would both have to sneak out.” He suggested.

You thought about the proposition. “What if… I agreed.” He smiled at you, realizing that his dreams would be coming true. “But! No army crawling.”

“I believe that is a fair compromise, dear partner.” He nodded.

That was how you found yourself at 20 years old playing super spy in a practically abandoned. Yukhei would “stealthily run” to a pillar before hiding behind it, leaning out only to check his surroundings before waving you on and running to the next closest pillar. You feel like you were doing pretty well until Yukhei somersaulted into a table, drawing the attention of everyone in the dining area.

He looked at you and said, “If I don’t move, they won’t see me.” Which would have been good logic except, he was lying in the middle of the room with rows of tables on either side of him and a fallen chair across his leg. Yukhei managed to finally continue the mission at hand once he felt like everyone was done staring at him. It definitely drew more attention than just walking out and you both knew that, but being civil adults wouldn’t have given you the same warmth that was now spreading through your body.

Once you made it outside, Yukhei started walking in the direction of your apartment, forcing you to follow. “You’re not dropping me off already are you?” You felt embarrassed by the words, but you were having a nice time and you didn’t think you were ready to go home yet.

“What? No. There’s just a good ice cream place this way.” Yukhei gestured down the street and you felt relieved.

You laughed. “That’s not exactly a meal.”

“Anything’s a meal if you eat enough of it.” He shrugged. On the way, you talked about your families and your hometowns. You learned that Yukhei was actually from Hong Kong and had just been studying here. He told you he liked it enough to try and stay permanently.

The ice cream place ended up being more like a fro yo bar and Yukhei spent 10 minutes trying every single flavor before deciding and literally filling his cup. He looked almost childlike while piling as many topping as he could into the minimal amount of free space left in the cup. You weren’t even sure how it would taste good at that point. Your own cup looked empty in comparison and had just sprinkles and chocolate syrup. He was absolutely lit up with excitement over his ice cream. Once he had paid, he lead you back outside.

“I remember seeing a park bench on my way to your apartment. Wanna sit there white we eat?” He asked before shoving a bite of his concoction into his mouth.

“Yeah, head that way.” You walked while carrying on pleasant conversation.

Yukhei told her about his classes and his professors and how he was really enjoying everything this year because it’s stuff he actually cares about. You told him about your test next Friday and how you were nervous because it’s not that she was struggling, it was more that the class was just hard. The two of you passed encouragements back and forth before you had the bench in sight. Yukhei excitedly pointed to it after noticing a dog wasn’t too far away, meaning he would most likely get to pet it. However, in the middle of his excitement, he had managed to knock the ice cream completely out of your hand and onto the street in front of you.

Yukhei stood in shock before stammering. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention and I just-” He was cut off by you laughing

“It was almost empty, Yukhei. Don’t feel bad. I feel bad that you keep trying to do stuff and it isn’t working out.” You were still laughing. “You were so excited about the dog, it was cute.”

He looked less than amused than you. “Let’s just go, yeah?”

“But the bench is right there…” You pointed.

“I know. But, I think I ate too much ice cream. I’m really not feeling good.” His joyful tone from earlier was gone as He threw his empty cup into the nearest trash can and shoved his hands into his pockets. You walked back to your apartment in near silence. You really unsure of what to say. Everything pleasant about the date thus far seemed out of reach as the somber boy next to you slouched. The ice cream really was almost empty and you probably ate way too much of it anyway. You weren’t sure you would be able to convince Yukhei of that though.

When you approached your apartment, Yukhei let out a small sigh. “I… I had a really nice time tonight, ___. I just wish things would have gone better.” He rubbed your shoulder, turning to walk away before you could say something in response.

You walked in the door and straight to the kitchen. You really didn’t want Yukhei to feel worse than he already did by saying that you really were hungry, but now you had to eat. You were rummaging through the fridge when you heard someone behind you.

“How did it go?” Jeno was leaning against the doorway.

“He probably thought it was a disaster…” You sighed and closed the fridge. You really hoped that he doesn’t disappear and ghost you because, despite all the accidents, you had a good time. He was kind and funny and he seemed to actually listen when you talked, which was, unfortunately, rarer than it ought to be.

Jeno furrowed his brows, “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“What did he do, then?”

You leaned against the counter. “He didn’t do anything either.” Jeno’s look of confusion intensified with your lack of clarification. “We went to go eat and our food never came. Literally never came. We waited for over an hour.”

“Why did you wait so long?” He asked.

“We lost track of time talking. We ended up leaving but we stopped to get ice cream and everything was going great until he accidentally… knocked it out of my hand.”

Jeno started laughing. “Sounds like everything went super smooth.”

“I know… It was a mess.” You sighed. “But I really liked hanging out with him. I didn’t care that literally, nothing worked out.”

“You may wanna tell him that then because I bet his confidence is busted after that. If I finally got up the nerve to ask a girl out and then it went that way, I probably wouldn’t show my face again.” Jeno said. “Just text him tonight. It’ll make him feel better. And he won’t be stewing in embarrassment for days.

“You’re right.” You chewed on your lip while trying to even think about what to send him

“Hey, let’s go out there with everyone. They’re gonna want to hear all of this.” He reached out to you and wrapped his arm around your shoulder before walking out to the living room.

“We can have our sleepover now! ___’s back!” Jaemin waved. “How did it go?”

“I thought it went really well, but it was kinda unconventional.” You replied, looking for a spot of the now crowded living room floor.

Renjun stared at her. “What does that even mean.”

“That it went terribly but I didn’t care because he was that nice and funny.” You told him.

“That’s sweet. I wouldn’t say it went terribly if you’re happy.” Emily said. Her head was on Jaemin’s lap and he was lightly playing with her hair, smiling at her per usual.

You told them everything and Renjun laughed with Jeno. While they continued laughing at your misfortune, you decided to send Yukhei a text and patiently waited for a response.

“I’m sorry, ___. I shouldn’t have laughed.” Renjun was still laughing but it seemed genuine. “This guy just has terrible luck.”

Your phone went off and you immediately checked it.

_You: too early to ask about a second date?_

_Yukhei: I’m genuinely surprised you’re asking._

_Yukhei: but no it’s not too early_

_You: good bc i really did have fun tonight_

_Yukhei: How about next Friday? My place? I obviously can’t be trusted to go outside_

_You: sounds good yukhei. I’ll see you then_

“We’re going out again next Friday.” You were more excited than you expected to be.

“Wait, you texted him already?” Renjun shot up. “You can’t text him minutes after he drops you off! You’re not desperate!”

“I told her to.” Jeno said before catching a piece of popcorn in his mouth. Jaemin got ready to throw another one before he spoke again. “If I liked a girl, and I thought the date went god awful, i would want to hear from her pretty quickly since I would be too scared to reach out.” He caught another

“And what if you didn’t really like her?” Renjun asked incredulously.

“Honestly?” Jeno laid down, finding his pillow. “I would think it was really sweet that she was excited. I would probably go out with her at least once more before giving up. But I don’t think ___ has to worry about him not liking her. He seems interested or he wouldn’t have been that upset at how the date turned out.”

Renjun rolled his eyes before he laid down, too. “So, when are you going to ask out your biology lab partner since you haven’t shut up about her since you got paired up.”

“Eventually… maybe… after the class is over. Not going to sign myself up for embarrassment. And leave me alone. ___ just got back from her date This isn’t about me. Just hit play, dingbat.”

You moved to a small space next to the lovebirds. Jaemin laid down and Emily moved to lay her head on his chest. Of course, the boys couldn’t make it easy and lay in an orderly fashion, but Emily moving freed up a bit of space so you picked a spot next to her.

“Have you not been watching this while I was gone?” You looked at the title screen.

“They were making conspiracies about your date,” Emily said before yawning.

You sighed. “Did you really have nothing better to do?”

Jeno looked at her. “I know I just said a couple hours ago that I approved of you but don’t push it.” He waved his finger at her. “Jaems, your girlfriend ratted us out so you can explain.

“We just were talking about what you two were doing and what he had planned,” Jaemin said but you could see his smirk even in the dark.

Emily started laughing. “No! You were all suspecting what kind of big secret he had.” She began pointing around the room “Jeno said a foot fetish, which I said was boring. Renjun said he was actually a clown for kids’ birthday parties. And Nana here, the most brilliant of them all, thinks he’s a robot. A science experiment to see what women’s ideal man is.”

“Or an alien,” Jaemin mumbled.

“Don’t forget robot alien.” Renjun chimed in, propping himself up on his elbow.

You didn’t expect anything different from your group of friends and decided to entertain them slightly. “No, he’s a super spy.”

“Okay, what really happened at dinner?” Jeno laughed.

You laughed remembering the spectacle he created leaving the restaurant. “He wants to be a kindergarten teacher. That’s it. He’s got really good ideas, honestly.” They didn’t look like they  believed her. “And when we were leaving, he said we should sneak out like spies. Then he rolled into a table.” This earned a laugh out of Jaemin. Which was followed by “I already hate him” from Renjun while Jeno simultaneously said “I love him.”

“Why did you leave that part out of the original story? That’s a highlight.” Emily said.

“Because Renjun thinks he’s an idiot and I was trying to give the boy a chance.” Yukhei was starting with a rather poor view from Renjun. Opting that part of the story made him seem normal.

“I don’t think he’s an idiot. I know he’s an idiot. The kids will love him.” Renjun said before lying back down. “Can we please, please, watch the movie. We’ve talked about ___’s date longer than she was on it.”

You threw a handful of popcorn at your roommate. “I didn’t tell you to make conspiracy theories while I was gone.”

“Have fun cleaning tomorrow. I hope everyone rolls all over the popcorn during the night and the vacuum won’t work and then you have to pick it up by hand.” Renjun snapped.

You retorted “I hope you’re picking tiny popcorn pieces out of your hair and clothes for weeks like glitter.”

“You crossed a line. You know I hate glitter.”

Emily looked up at Jaemin. “Are they always like this?” Jaemin nodded and kissed her nose when Jeno yelled “Hey!” over the bickering roommates and pressed play.

You didn’t even make it halfway through the movie before falling asleep.

* * *

The next week was incredibly uneventful and before you knew it, you found yourself standing in front of Yukhei’s apartment. To say you were nervous was a slight understatement. Before you could knock, you felt your phone go off in your back pocket.

_Evil Devil Monster: I know you’re at his apartment, but keep it PG. We’re classy people._

You rolled your eyes but the text from Renjun at least took your mind off of your nerves long enough to actually knock on the door.

“Hey! Come in! I’m in the kitchen!” Yukhei yelled and you cautiously opened the door. You looked up to find his back to you from across the room, bent over the stove working on something. There was a blue apron tied loosely around his neck and waist.

“Are you cooking?” You asked, a small smile forming. Yukhei hadn’t mentioned that he liked to cook in the few interactions the two of you had had, but it was more than a pleasant surprise.

Yukhei turned to meet you, his smile quickly forming on his lips when his eyes met yours. When he reached up to scratch the back of his head, you couldn’t help but notice the way his sleeve became tighter around as his arm as the muscles flexed. You weren’t quite sure when you would be able to stop being a little bit dumbstruck over his appearance.

“Well, um, I’m trying to cook at least. I felt like with the way our first date went, it couldn’t get much worse. Let me put this in the oven and I’ll come out there with you. You can sit anywhere.” His voice had the same nervous tone that it did throughout the first half of their last date and you thought it was absolutely adorable.

You sat on the couch and Yukhei wasn’t too far behind, sitting down next to you when you heard someone yell from the other room.

“Oh my god! Dude!” The unknown voice yelled followed by a chorus of laughter.

Yukhei let out a small laugh, turning to better face you. “Sorry, my apartment has a ghost. He’s like really weird. Not quite sure how to get rid of him but he’s kinda grown on me?” He joked.

“Can you stop calling me a ghost to all your friends you bring over?” You assumed the boy that appeared seconds later was his roommate. He looked extremely friendly and handsome but in a boyish way that made him look extremely youthful. His sweatshirt was a little too big but it didn’t necessarily swallow him, just made him look comfy. “Oh shit, this one’s a girl. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with a girl.” He teased and started laughing as if he had just told the funniest joke ever.

“Yes, thank you, Mark.” Yukhei rubbed his forehead. “You’re making me seem very cool right now. When are you leaving?” Yukhei deadpanned.

“I have my study group in like 30 minutes so probably in the next 5. That eager to get rid of me?” Mark smirked

“No, I love you so much. You’re the roommate my soul has always longed for.” Yukhei tried to keep a straight face but his lip twitched slightly.

Mark crossed his arms and stood in front of the pair of you. “That sounded sarcastic.”

“I would never joke about my love for you. Be safe going over there.” His tone was genuine, whatever slight annoyance lacing his words previously had dissipated.

“Hah, okay mom.” Mark chuckled while walking to the corner to pick up his backpack.

“Text me when you get there and take a jacket. It’s gonna be cold when it’s time to come back. Text me when you’re home too, if I’m not still up.” Yukhei raised his voice in order to play the role his friend had given him.

“Love you, bro.”

“Yeah you, too. Go study. You’re annoying me.”

You found the interaction insanely charming. They were obviously close enough friends to joke around and seemed to enjoyed living together. Mark knew which buttons to push while Yukhei found it impossible to stay mad. You assumed it probably was the same the other way around after remembering the way that Yukhei had described Mark on your first date. “Sorry about that. I love him but he likes to embarrass me.” Yukhei chuckles softly. “Hey, wanna play a game?” He smirked at her

“What kind of game…?” You asked nervously. This could go a lot of different ways. Despite the way that the first date went, Yukhei could manage to screw everything up in a single sentence and you silently prayed that wouldn’t be the case.

“Guitar Hero?” He asked, smirk turning into a shy smile as he began to play with his hands. “I’m trash at it but I think it makes it more fun when you’re bad. I had movies for later but we could do this for a little bit before hand.”

Saying you were relieved was a major understatement. “Yeah, let’s play. I’m not good at it either.” You smiled at him and he excitedly shot off the couch and over to the tv in front of them.

He was getting the game ready to go when he asked, “You had a test today, right? I remember you mentioning it last week at dinner we never ate at. How did it go?”

“It went surprisingly well. I managed to actually sit down and study for it, so I have high hopes.” You remembered the comment about your test being in short and between conversations, just a comment to keep the conversation moving. It was sweet that he remembered even when it was barely mentioned.

“Good, I’m glad.” You saw his small smile from where she sat. “Okay! I have not played this sober in a couple years. Usually, we play it when the guys are over and we’ve had a few drinks.” He laughed, running his hand through his hair before giving you a guitar. “I also have a proposition for you.”

“A proposition?” You slung on the guitar and adjusted the strap. This felt super nostalgic yet unfamiliar at the same time. You had never really played except for at friends’ houses so holding the guitar felt awkward after years of being without it.

“We have to both play on expert for at least the first two songs.” He adjusted his own guitar and you couldn’t help but watch his hands. Your mind drifted to your date last week, thinking about how his hand had taken up almost the entirety of your back.

“Okay… I’m starting to get the feeling you’re better at this game then you’re letting on. Plus, I don’t even know how fair this is with how big your hands are.” He seemed like he had a clear advantage with greater mobility.

“No. I really am bad. And my hands are too big for this game.” He showed her how when he tried to press the keys, he would completely miss because because his fingers were too long. He held his hand in what looked like an uncomfortable position just so that the pads of his fingers could properly press the colored buttons.

“But mine are too small. I can’t even reach the keys.” You wiggled your fingers by where the keys were, barely moving up and down the neck of the play guitar to push the buttons.

Yukhei chuckled and smiled down at her. “Cute. My hand would swallow yours. I like it.”

A blush crept onto your cheeks while you tried to distract yourself by adjusting the strap that you had already fixed. He was so bold and it caught you off guard at the worst times.

“Alright, so the proposition. We have to play on expert and we can’t just give up. We have to give it the best effort we can. I’ll play the mode where you can’t fail, your guitar just smashes. Whoever has the highest score after 3 songs has to buy the other dessert on the next date. Deal?”

“Very presumptuous of you to think I’ll go out with you again. But sure, deal.” You teased. “Just don’t do a stupid hard song.”

“I’m trying to win just as bad as you. I’m gonna try to pick something easy. I want ice cream.” He scrolled through the songs before picking some song that you didn’t think you had heard before. It started and it took about 3 seconds before your guitar broke but thankfully, Yukhei wasn’t too far behind.

“I’m starting to regret mentioning this. I don’t know if I’m even going to get any points.” Yukhei started laughing. He completely lost it when his guitar broke another two times before the chorus ended. His laugh echoed through the apartment and it was absolutely infectious. You found yourself laughing with him despite trying so hard to concentrate on the game in front of you.

“Stop! I’m trying to win and you’re distracting me!” You laughed loudly, quickly matched Yukhei’s own volume and before long Yukhei was on the floor with his guitar cast to the side. After seeing that he had only accumulated 3,000 points while you had 25,000, you allowed yourself to join him, buckling over in laughter.

“I thought you said no giving up.” You teased after your laughter slowly subsided.

“I want you to know, I tried my very best. I came to win.” He started laughing again, unable to even sit up.

“You came to win?” You were laughing again, as well. “Yukhei, you only have 3,000 points! You didn’t even play!” The two of you filled the apartment with joyous sounds once again.

“I hit like 10 notes. That’s pretty good.” Yukhei defended himself.

“Why did you even start laughing to begin with?” You asked. “If you were taking it oh so seriously?”

“The screaming part sounded funny.” He started laughing again and began imitating what you assumed to be the lead singer. His impression wasn’t even close to the song the two of you had just played. It definitely wasn’t the right key, nor the right words. You weren’t even sure what song he was supposed to be singing anymore. You couldn’t hold your laughter back anymore. You didn’t want to encourage him, knowing his neighbors probably hated the two of you right now but it was all too much. So you gave in to your happiness once more.

“Okay, okay.” Yukhei took a deep breath. “We have two more songs and I’m still determined to win.”

Chloe raised her eyebrows. “I would have to not even play this next song for you to be able to catch up to me.”

“Ye of little faith. Trust me. I am a Guitar Hero god. Didn’t you see the mad shredding I did in the last song?”

You honestly felt as if she could burst from the happiness you felt around this boy. He was weird and a little bit crazy. All of it made you completely unafraid to be yourself.

You picked the next two songs after you somehow managed to calm down. They both played out almost the exact same. The only difference was that this time, it was the drums that sounded funny. He then made a variety of drum sounds before bursting out laughing once again. The last song ended with him on the couch pretending to break his guitar after his “epic solo”, spurred by the sound of the breaking guitar in the game.

“Oh my god, how do you play this drunk?” You found herself back on the floor, looking up at him with tear blurred vision. Your stomach was beginning to cramp up from all of it.

“Oh, I don’t. It goes somehow worse than this is going. I really don’t even know how I hold the guitar. Not because I’m that drunk, but because I think it’s funny. The keys make weird noises.” His laughter was possibly slowing down enough to have a conversation.

“The keys… make weird noises… They click.” You looked at him, the confusion probably evident on your face.

“Yeah, I try not to question my drunk self’s humor. My sober self’s humor doesn’t even make sense.” He shrugged and came to sit down next to you. “Now we need to add up scores.” Yukhei took the pen and pretended to do serious math when just one of your scores would have been enough to win. “So it looks like I win!” He said with a huge smile.

“How could you have won?” You looked at the paper, giggling at the horribly uneven totals.

“Well, really I won no matter who got the most points. Either I had to take you on a date or you had to take me out on a date. I get a date with you both ways, don’t I?” He was still smiling.

“Hm, I see what you did there. I will allow you to buy me the dessert you definitely owe me. Hey, when was our dinner supposed to be ready?” You remembered Yukhei mentioning something about putting dinner in the oven when you first got here.

Yukhei stretched. His arms clasping above his head. “20 minutes.”

“It’s been an hour…” You said softly. With all of the comotion between songs, what would have been a fast game turned into an hour full of attempting to play.

“Wait, what?” Yukhei got up and scrambled to the kitchen. When you got up and stood behind him, you saw a small string of smoke begin leaking out from the oven. He hastily turned off the oven and locked his fingers together on the back of his head. He turned to face you. “Well, what now?”

“Do we open the oven?” You asked, peeking around him.

“I don’t know. I’m kinda scared.” He said as he turned back to the oven. He took a deep breath and swung the door open. “Oh my god, no one should let me cook.” He coughed as the smoke billowed out into the room around you. There was so much of it and you soon found yourself coughing as well. Yukhei shooed you back to the living room which was a little bit away from the smoke for now.

“I’m gonna open the front door.” Yukhei walked down the short hallway to the front and returned, sitting next to Chloe on the couch.

There really was a lot of smoke. It was honestly beginning to irritate your throat. “Do you not have smoke detectors?”

Yukhei slouched against the back of the couch. “No, I do. But the last time I cooked, I caught some noodles on fire. I got scared something like that would happen again, so I covered the detectors with duct tape.” He pointed to one of the detectors not too far from them. It looked like a  poorly wrapped package and you couldn’t help but laugh at the makeshift prevention method.

“How often do you cook?” Your laughing was beginning to grow louder thinking about Yukhei leaning over the countertops while tragedies happen around him.

“Never.” He was now laughing too. “The only other time I cooked is when I caught the noodles on fire… while they sat in water.”

“You caught noodles on fire… in water. How is that even possible?” You asked. A laugh turned into a cough and Yukhei cleared his throat.

“I’ll tell you how. Can we move to the hallway first though?” He stood up and extended his hand to you. You accepted, but instead of letting go when you stood up, he laced your fingers together. “Hm, my hand does swallow yours, doesn’t it?”

“I like it.” Your own unexpected boldness brought a light pink to Yukhei’s cheeks and you decided you liked that too.

After Yukhei flipped on as many fans as he could, the two of you made your way into the hallway outside his apartment. Yukhei then explained that when he was cooking last time, he was making some noodles and only half were actually in the water. The rest were propped up against the pot, not entirely submerged. He doesn’t know how it happened, assumes the heat from the pot was too much, but the dry part of the noodles caught fire. Yukhei didn’t even realize until the smoke detector was beeping. “Ever since then, I told Mark that I will not be cooking. I just wanted to do something nice tonight. Didn’t think it would be that much of a mess.” He sat down against the wall next to his door. He patted the ground next to him, inviting you to join.

You sat down next to him. “Does Mark cook then?” You asked as he went to hold your hand again. Your heart started to pick up and before long, it was pounding.

“Mark? He’s just as bad as me, just a different bad. He tries to fry eggs with chopsticks and cuts fruit with scissors. Neither of us cook. We buy take out a lot or go to our friend Taeyong’s apartment. He likes to cook and he’s really good at it. I think he wants to be a chef. He hosts weird little friend dinners as an excuse to cook for everyone. I don’t think his roommate realizes how lucky he is.” His thumb ran small circles over the back of your hand.

“Why don’t you and Mark just move in with him? It would probably be cheaper if there were four of you anyway, right?” Taeyong sounded like a pleasant guy and Chloe definitely understood the perks of having a roommate who could cook.

“Taeyong and Jaehyun are very clean. And I mean clean. I think we would drive Taeyong to a mental breakdown. Every time we come over, he threatens to spray us down with febreze.” He laughed. The image he painted was definitely interesting.

“Do you cook?” He looked down at you. Even sitting, Yukhei towered over you.

“Me? Uhh kinda? I’m not horrible at it, but I wouldn’t go around saying I can cook. I know how to make a couple basic things. Renjun does more cooking than I do.” Your stomach growled and Yukhei let out a small laugh at the sound.

“Why don’t we order pizza? We have to eat something.” He took his phone out of his pocket.

“Pizza works.” You found herself resting your head against Yukhei’s arm. It felt comfortable so you stayed like you were while he finished the phone call.

After finishing the order, he let out a soft sigh. “Okay we have food on the way.”

You let out a small yawn and leaned a little closer into him. “Sounds good to me.”

They sat in silence for a bit with you resting on his arm and Yukhei drawing various shapes on your hand.

“Are you tired already? It’s only 9.” He asked quietly. It was so soft and gentle, not at all like the way he was inside the apartment earlier.

You nodded. “You really wore me out with the guitar hero.” You started giggling again remembering how the night had played out so far. “I’ll revive again after some food, trust me.”

“You’re making yourself sound like a robot.” Yukhei said as you lifted your head from his arm and he squeezed your hand. It sent a  comforting warmth through your arm, and you turned your attention to his face. A small smile graced his features as his eyes ran over your face, before stopping at your lips.

His smile slowly faded but he made eye contact once again. Nerves fluttered through your chest as he began to lean in towards you. Your flustered state probably became obvious as a blush made its way to your cheeks when he was so close your noses were touching.

“You can’t fall asleep on me yet.” His voice was much lower than the other times you had previously heard it. It felt incredibly intimate with his breath on your lips. Just when you felt as if your lips could touch, you heard someone clear their throat. The two of you separated rather quickly and faced the delivery boy.

“Um, sorry to interrupt. It’s just that I think this pizza is yours.” He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with interrupting whatever you were about to do.

“Oh um, yeah probably. That was really fast.” Yukhei stood up and took the pizza. “Thanks, man.”

The delivery guy nodded in response and took his leave. Yukhei sighed and slid down the wall, holding the pizza.

“Well, my dear, you food is here. Sorry I didn’t cook it.” He laughed.

“Food is food. I’m not going to be one to complain.” You took a piece out of the box and turned so you could face him.

There the two of you sat in this middle of the hallway in his apartment complex, eating pizza and waiting for the smoke to clear out of his apartment. Yukhei made bad jokes and you found that you yourself began to make just as many.

“So I know you told me how you and Renjun ended up living together, but how did you meet?” Yukhei asked between pieces of pizza.

“We were in theater together.” You shrugged. “He was in technical theater though. He’s an incredible artist and he painted some of the most beautiful sets I’ve ever seen. It was the last play in middle school and I finally told him that his sets were pretty and that they really helped the play. He the told me that no one pays attention to the set because they’re too busy watching me. It was a weird interaction but we somehow became friends from it. I found out he lived a couple houses down from mine so I would go over to his house a lot during the summer. I don’t know if he really wanted to be my friend but I didn’t give him a choice. As soon as high school came around we were inseparable.”

“I’m sure he did want to be friends if you’re now living with him. When you both came in that first day, he didn’t seem like the type to spend time with people he didn’t like.” Yukhei could flip like a switch. One minute he would be laughing and making jokes not even children would laugh at and the next he would be intently listening to a story you were telling. You appreciated that his fun side didn’t overshadow his more sensitive side. Despite all the fun you had inside, you don’t know if you would make it very long without meaningful conversation.

“He’s not that way at all. He always calls me the sister he never asked for but got anyway, but I think he secretly loves me.” You smiled softly. You loved Renjun. He had always been a strong support system for you. He was resilient and tough when you really were not. He cared about you and you cared about him. There was a strong friendship that you had built through a mutual respect for each other. “What about you and Mark?” you turned and leaned back against the wall.

“What about me?” Mark said coming up the stairs. “Why are you sitting in the hallway?” Mark walked up to the two of you and sat down. He grabbed a piece of pizza and grimaced when he found that it had gone cold. “Man, how long have you been out here?”

“That’s a lot of questions for someone who just interrupted a date.” Yukhei teased. “___ asked how we met. We’re sitting outside because I burned the dinner and there was a lot of smoke. We’ve been out here for about two hours. Anything else?”

“Yeah. Can we go inside? I feel weird kinda sitting in the hallway. Also I want to tell the story of how we met.”

“I would rather you didn’t.” Yukhei sighed standing up, grabbing the pizza box. “I know you’re going to tell her the embarrassing version and I think I’m just now getting ___ to think I’m not a total failure.”

Mark yelled from inside. “Come on Yukhei. How did you burn lasagna? And why is Guitar Hero out? I thought we decided that was for our trademarked drunk boys night because if you play sober it’s too embarrassing.”

“It has begun. Please, try to keep however small of a good impression you may have on me.” He said quietly to you before leading you back inside the apartment that you had abandoned earlier. “I had to beat her. Show her what a champ looked like.”

Mark held up the paper where they were keeping score. “It looks like you both suck. But you somehow sucked more than you do drunk. Jaehyun would never let you live this down if he saw your scores sober.” He laughed and took a picture of the paper before putting it down and flopping on the couch. “So, you wanna know how we met? I don’t know your name sorry. Yukhei tells me nothing. He’s like scared of me or something.”

“___. Nice to meet you.” She said.

“Oh! You’re the one that Yukhei has been telling Taeyong and Jaehyun about over the phone for weeks! He even had them come over and help him pick an outfit for your first date.” Mark started laughing, clutching his stomach. You found the whole thing sweet and knowing that Yukhei was probably embarrassed made it that much sweeter.

“Hey, it’s getting late. Let me walk you home.” Yukhei said quietly, his hand pressed against your back.

“Does this have to do with your roommate?” You smirked.

“Yes and no. It has more to do with the fact that it’s 11 and I’m scared of your roommate killing me for keeping you out.” He left your side to get a jacket.

You watched him and raised your voice a little so he could hear over his roommates never ending laughter “How will you get back?”

“I think I can survive walking a block alone, babe.” Your heart skipped at the nickname. He smiled at you and took your hand leading her out the door.

“Wait! I didn’t get to tell you how we met!” Mark yelled as Yukhei closed the door.

You intertwined your fingers with his and looked up at him.

“How did you meet?” You didn’t understand how bad it could be for him to avoid it this intensely.

He ran his other hand through his hair. “Well, I hit on his then girlfriend. But she didn’t know I was hitting on her? And then I tried to befriend Mark by talking about how pretty this girl was and telling him that I tried to flirt on her but she curved me. And all he said was, ‘I sure hope so since that’s my girlfriend.’ Then, somehow we became friends? I’m not sure. We were both drunk. It was a crappy college party and we were both freshmen that didn’t know anyone. But, Mark likes telling the story because he mentioned it to his then girlfriend and she told him everything I said. You’ll probably hear it at some point if you decide to stick around.” He shrugged and stuck his free hand in his pocket.

“It couldn’t have been that bad. I mean the weird part is that you became friends with Mark after openly talking about his girlfriend. Most guys would have gotten all possessive and fought you or something.” It definitely wasn’t the most traditional story. Mark must be that easy going of a guy to not be bothered by someone like Yukhei approaching his girlfriend.

“He found it funny. He said really he just liked knowing other people thought she was as pretty as he did. It was weirdly sweet? Then he laughed at one of my jokes and he was like ‘I like you. Let’s be friends.’ And it was my first week in college so I stuck with him. Now, I don’t really know how I would have survived without him.”

“That’s nice. I’m glad you met him. Even if he holds how you met over your head. He seems nice.” You slightly swayed their hands between the pair.

“Yeah, maybe you can get to know him as Mark and not the guy trying to embarrass me every second. You’d probably get along pretty well.” He slowed down as you approached your building. “Hey, look. I’m sorry tonight didn’t turn out exactly as planned.”

“Honestly, I liked it. It seemed very you. And I kinda like you.” You took a step up onto the few stairs in front of the complex and turned to face him. He still was taller than you but the steps at least sort of evened it out.

“Kinda?” His voice was lower, matching the tone he had in the hallway when they were waiting for their pizza. He took a step closer to you and you found herself swallowing nervously from the sudden proximity.

“Yeah, kinda. I might take you up on buying me dessert since I did win.” You spoke quietly. Yukhei somehow got closer to you and you weren’t sure if you could remember how to breathe.

“I’d like that.” His hand reached up to hold you cheek and he leaned in. His lips met yours and his hand dropped to the back of your neck. You reached out to brace yourself by grabbing onto his sweatshirt around his waist. He continued to kiss you, lips moving at a steady pace while you wished the delivery guy hadn’t interrupted the two of you earlier so that you could have had this twice. It all felt a little too surreal. This beautiful boy was interested in you, kissing you. And he was good, really good. His lips against yours ignited fireworks in your chest and a set of chills over your skin beneath your jacket.

He broke away, rubbing his thumb over your cheek before leaning in once again. Before you could deepen the kiss like you really wanted, Yukhei broke away and pressed his lips to your forehead. His hand ran from your neck, down your arm, and into your own hand.

“Come get coffee tomorrow?” He asked softly.

All you managed to say was “Yeah.”

He lifted your hand and pressed a soft kiss to your knuckles before starting to walk away. “I’ll see you tomorrow, ___.”

You somehow managed to walk into your complex with your legs being completely weak from the kiss just a few seconds ago. When you reached your own apartment, you snuck slowly through the door and closed it quietly, resting your head on the other side. You could still feel his lips on yours and all you could think about was kissing him again.

“You’re home late.” Renjun said from behind her. You turned to find him standing with his arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

“Yeah. We just lost track of time talking. I didn’t even realize I was gone so long. Why are you still up?” You hoped your tone didn’t sound as flustered as you felt.

“I just want to make sure this guy is actually respectable and deserves you. Did you have fun?” He turned and walked into the living room, and you followed shortly after, taking a seat on their couch and hugging one of the pillows.

“Honestly? I had a lot of fun. He’s really funny and easy to talk to. I guess that’s how it was so easy to lose track of time.” You rested your chin on the pillow you were holding.

Renjun reached out to the table to grab a mug of what looked like tea. “What did you do?” he asked before taking a sip.

You told him about the guitar hero, the dinner burning, and the pizza in the hallway.

“That’s it? That’s all you did? I figured since he asked you over to his apartment, he had something planned but he really just wanted to hang out with you. I think I may like him. Even if I do still think he’s a little dumb.”

You laughed. “Renjun!”

“Okay, okay sorry. But really. He didn’t even try to make a move?” Renjun asked. “Weird that you were alone all night and literally nothing happened except for him holding your hand. I told you to keep it PG not G.”

“Well, it seemed like he was going to kiss me when we were outside his apartment, but the pizza guy interrupted.” You said rubbing your neck.

“And he didn’t try anything else the rest of the night?” Renjun didn’t look fooled.

“Umm,” you started “he kissed me when he dropped me off.”

“Thank God. I was starting to think the boy really was dumb.” He put his mug on the table. “Was he good?”  
You buried her face in your hands. “Really good. It’s honestly annoying. He’s perfect. He-”

“Okay, I don’t want the details. I’m just glad he’s nice to you. I’m gonna go to bed. I just wanted to stay up to make sure you got home.” Renjun patted your leg and stood up.

You continued to sit in the living room, thinking about the entire night. You were so happy the whole night and you couldn’t even remember the last time she laughed that much and that hard. You finally got up, walking to your room with a smile on your face.

* * *

You walked into the coffee shop on a Thursday morning after class, going ahead and assuming your regular spot at the counter. It had gotten to the point that Yukhei usually had your drink ready for you by the time you came in and was refusing to let you pay for it anymore, saying your iced coffee probably cost the store a dime.

“Good morning, beautiful.” He smiled and handed you your cup. Somewhere along the line he had counted just how many half and halfs and splenda you usually added and began doing it for you.

“Good morning. I had a question for you.” You took a sip of your coffee as Yukhei leaned forward, resting his elbows on the counter and reaching out to hold your hand.

“What is it?” His thumb rubbed lazy circles over yours.

“Do you wanna have movie night at my place tomorrow? Renjun’s gonna be out and I figured we could just hang out. Not a lot can go wrong if we’re just watching a movie. If you don’t have anything planned already…” You felt nervous asking him out even though you knew the nerves were more about getting to see him again.

He started smiling at you. “Yeah. Let’s do that. So just meet you at your place?”

“Yes sir.” You smiled back at him, trying to ignore the way your ears were heating up at the thought of being able to hang out with him again.

“See you then, ___.” He walked back to the back of the store after someone behind the curtain hollered his name.

_Are you French? Because Eiffel for you._

* * *

A knock sounded on your door and before you could respond, Renjun was springing out of his chair to answer.

“Oh, hey, um. Renjun, right?” You heard Yukhei and immediately left the kitchen to meet him, preventing your roommate from embarrassing your guest.

“I am. Didn’t know you were coming over tonight.” Renjun was blocking the door with his arms crossed. Yukhei really was much bigger than him, yet he still looked intimidated by the boy in front of him.

You chose that moment to interrupt, stepping in. “I didn’t know you were still going to be here.”

“So you just weren’t going to tell me at all?” Renjun asked, raising an eyebrow at you.

“I knew you would try and stay just to interrogate him. I was going to tell you when you got home.”

Renjun rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. Have fun. Don’t be stupid or I’ll never let you live it down. I’m leaving.”

“Have fun on your not date.” You waved at him, pulling Yukhei inside with your other arm.  
Renjun was forced outside as a result. “I told you, it’s a school project.”

“And you’re meeting Friday night at 7:30? Alone with a pretty girl?” She questioned.

“I said I was leaving. I’ll be home before midnight.” He grabbed his jacket from inside the door and left before you could make another remark.

“I’m still scared of him” Yukhei mumbled.

You lead the two of you further inside and Yukhei walked over to the couch. He set down a box you hadn’t even realized he had been holding.

“What’s that?” You asked, gesturing to the simple pink box after you set down the bowl of popcorn you made earlier.

“Well, I lost. I owed you dessert so I brought cookies.” He opened the box. “I got chocolate chip.” He leaned back with a cookie in his hand. “Hey, can we take the cushions off the couch?” He asked looking around the living room.

“Yeah, I think so. Why?”

Yukhei’s smile lit up the whole room. “Let’s build a fort.”

Without waiting for your response, Yukhei stripped the cushions from the couch, the loveseat, and the chair and began to masterfully stack them into a tent like structure while he instructed you to grab any blanket you could find. You pulled the bar stools from their kitchen into the room and let Yukhei arrange them, all the while talking about classes and his work and new ideas he had for the classroom.

By the time you were finished, you just barely had enough room to completely sit up in the fort. Yukhei’s feet stuck out once he laid down, giving him a weak excuse to curl into your side.

The inside of the fort had so many blankets and pillows that it was actually pretty comfortable to lie on. You tried not to think of how Renjun would react when he came home to the mess, but in the meantime, you enjoyed the pairs creation and worked on getting all the snack and drinks inside the fort. Yukhei somehow managed to find a few more pillows and set them up so you would be able to sit up slightly and enjoy the food.

He picked the movie, but you knew the chances of you talking through the whole thing were very high. As soon as the movie started, he began making small remarks that would carry off to an off topic conversation and laughing. This would upset Yukhei due to the fact that you missed an oh so important part, forcing you to restart the whole thing. Of course then Yukhei would then just laugh at the same part remembering the comment he had made the last time you watched the scene. It was almost as bad as playing Guitar Hero and the laughing fits would last almost just as long.

At some point you had decided that it was finally time to settle down, so you started the movie from the beginning once more and planned to watch it with minimal interruptions. However, this watch through was just as distracting as the first but in a much different way. Yukhei was touching you just enough to make your thoughts be filled with him and away from whatever sight was flashing across the screen.

The beginning of the movie was filled with small, cautious touches. He started by gently rubbing his hand against yours before grabbing it, lacing your fingers together. Not long after, his free hand was dragging up and down your arm slowly, eliciting goosebumps on the skin left in his fingertips wake. You would be lying if you said you didn’t want to move yourself to be closer to him. It was honestly all you had thought about since the you had last kissed. The respectfulness he was displaying was sweet, but you couldn’t stop your mind from thinking about where you would be if he weren’t so respectful.

You feigned a yawn and rested your head against his upper arm, hoping to encourage more contact. You felt a little accomplished when he kissed the top of your head and moved his arm to wrap around your shoulders, moving your head to his chest. His fingers resumed their up and down motion once you had become resituated.

The two of you stayed that way for awhile before Yukhei spoke, voice just above a whisper. “I’m really glad you kept hanging out with me after that first night.”

You looked up at him, surprised by his sudden confession but thankful nonetheless. “I’m glad I did too.”

In a moment of boldness, you leaned forward to give him a light kiss. Just as you went to move away, Yukhei place a hand under your jaw, tilting your lips to better fit with his own. His arm slid from around your shoulder to wrap around your waist, pulling you closer to him. You were now positioned slightly on top of him, his hand trailing up and down your back to under your shirt, nails gently grazing your skin. His tongue lightly pushed through your lips to meet yours as his other hand moved to the back of your neck, somehow pulling you even closer. His tongue slowly moved against your bottom lip before pushing back in and meeting yours in a languid glide. A small sigh escaped your lips at the blissful contact, encouraging Yukhei to deepen the kiss. His lips pressed against yours harder and you climbed into his lap fully. His hands dragged against your sides as you raked one of your own hands through his hair, earning a small satisfied sound. You gave a small pull to the stands between your fingers.

Yukhei rolled the two of you over, allowing him to regain control. He leaned down, pressing small kisses to your neck. He left a quick bite in the crook of your neck before returning to your lips, which he greeted by taking your bottom lip between his teeth. His hands were moving to anywhere he could touch while you were distracted with running your hands up and down his sides to his back. He pressed his body into yours, lowering himself onto his forearms. He sighed slightly when you made your way down to his neck sucking slightly before moving to each new spot. Yukhei moved to better position himself above you, attempting to place a leg between yours.

However, in the process, he kicked over the bowl of popcorn that was previously sitting between you. You both tuned to look at it and Yukhei mumbled a quiet, “shit” before burying his head in your neck. He let out a small laugh and you couldn’t help but  join him. He pressed a small kiss to the base of your neck before sitting up to clean up the mess he had just made with the popcorn.

“Honestly, may be good that I accidentally knocked the popcorn over or I don’t know how far I would have tried to take that.” He laughed nervously. The comment sent heat through your body, but she tried her best to ignore it. You weren’t even sure how far you would have let it go.

He ran a hand through his hair. “I just, honestly have been wanting to really kiss you since the first night but then that didn’t exactly have the ending I was wanting.”

“The second date went well. And you kinda kissed me dropping me off.” You reminded him holding off on telling him he could have kissed you for longer that night.

He threw a piece of popcorn at you. “I know what you’re hinting at but we were in the middle of the street. I like to think I’m a slightly classy guy.” He chuckled before eating a piece of popcorn and moving back to lay next to you. When he started to lay back, he sat back up and turned to look behind him.

“Oh yeah! The cookies! I almost laid on them.” He held up the box offering you one before taking one for himself.

You both got comfortable again after the popcorn was put back into the bowl and placed far to the side. By the time the cookies were gone, you had three and Yukhei had the other nine. You almost finished the movie curled up together talking about your family, legs tangled with your head on his chest and his hand combing through your hair. Just before the credits, Yukhei moves and lays his head on your stomach, wrapping his arms around you. You laugh a little but he doesn’t respond.

“Hey, are you okay?” You rubbed his back.

He buried his face into your stomach, “No.”

“What’s wrong.” You were confused. Everything was going fine until a few seconds ago.

“If I tell you, you’re gonna think I’m dumb.” He sighed.

“I won’t think you’re dumb, Yukhei. What’s bothering you.” You spoke softly and ran your hand through his hair.

“I ate too many cookies.”

Once you processed what he said, you really did have to try not to laugh. Even at the age of 20, Yukhei still hadn’t learned the skill of self control. “Okay, well. I don’t want you trying to walk home if you don’t feel good.” You shifted underneath him and climbed out of the fort, offering your hand to Yukhei. “Let’s go to my room. You’re not going to want to be laying there when Renjun gets home. He’ll interrogate you.” Yukhei took your hand and followed you into your room.

You got into bed and invited Yukhei to follow. He curled into your side the best he could with his size and rested his head on your chest. He still managed to make light jokes despite not feeling the best, each one earning a small laugh from you. You talked for quite a bit while you rubbed his back and held his hand. Yukhei told stories from elementary school and how he used to get in trouble a lot as the class clown. You listened to all of them until he slowly drifted to sleep and you were quick to follow.

You didn’t wake up until you heard Renjun coming into your room. “___, the apartment is a mess what did you two… oh.” His sentence trailed off upon seeing Yukhei still in the apartment. “Third date and you’re already sharing a bed, huh?” His smirk glinted mischievously, even in the dark.

“First date and you’re already out til,” you checked her phone, “2:15am? Wow. I’m proud of you. You said you would be home before midnight.” You carefully slid out from underneath Yukhei and placed his head on a pillow before leaving the room and quietly shutting the door behind you.

“I told you, it was a group project. What’s your excuse?” He pointed a finger at you as you walked into his own room. He made a noticeable grimace as he walked past the mess the two of you made in the living room.

You shrugged. “He’s sick.”

Renjun stared at you in disbelief. “You did not fall for the ‘cough, cough, I’m sick.’ bit. ___, come on!”

“This isn’t Mean Girls, Renjun. He ate nine cookies. I’m sure he actually doesn’t feel well.” You climbed into his bed.

Renjun climbed in after you, pulling the comforter towards him. “Alright. I guess we’re back to having sleepovers. I thought maybe I had finally gotten you to sleep in your own bed.” You tried to shove him off the bed but he grabbed your arm and pulled yourself back up. “Seriously, though. Are you sure this is a good idea? The boy sounds like he has two brain cells. Who willingly eats nine cookies in one sitting?”

“They were good cookies…” you mumbled.

He looked at you for a few seconds before sighing. “You really like this guy, don’t you?”

You nodded. “Before you tell me, ‘it’s only been three dates how do you know?’, I see him every time I go to get coffee. I sit and talk to him for about thirty to forty five minutes three times a week. He’s so nice and funny and surprisingly respectful. He didn’t try anything crazy when we moved to my bed and he honestly didn’t even try anything when we were watching the movie.”

“If you genuinely do like this guy and if he is as good of a guy as you say he is, I will do my very best to give him a fighting chance. I might always think he’s stupid though.” You both laughed.

“Renjun?” You asked softly

He turned to look at you. “What?”  
“Is it okay if I’m scared. Like I know I just said I see him a lot but I guess it still feels fast for me to like him this much.”

Renjun let out a low whistle. “That bad?”

“Yeah.” Your voice was still at whisper level, scared that if you said it too loud it would be that much more real.

“Look, you can’t help who you like and how much you like them, but what you can do is make sure they’re worth it before setting yourself up to get hurt. Just at least do that for me. I don’t want to call Jaemin and Jeno to comfort you.”

“You wouldn’t do it?” You smiled slightly knowing he was teasing.

He laughed. “Absolutely not. When have I ever helped you with heartbreak?”

“This isn’t fair. You haven’t had to. I know you would help me if I needed it.” You were laughing with him, trying to stay quiet as to not wake up boy in the room next door.

“Hmm. I think I would be too busy killing the guy who did it.”

After the laughter faded, you spoke again. “I’m gonna be honest for a second. I’m scared I’m gonna mess this up.”

“You’re scared of a lot of things. But, every date that you’ve had, he’s the one that messes it up. Yet you still like him, right?” He rubbed his face. “If he doesn’t give you the same courtesy when you make a small mistake, he really is dumb.”

You wanted to answer but she wasn’t sure how or even what to say. Renjun was rarely openly nice to you. His kindness was masked behind harsh words that were followed by thoughtful actions.

“I love you. I really do. And I surprisingly want to hear about your date with Bozo the clown that ate nine cookies but I’m really tired.” As if on cue, he yawned.

“From the  _group project_?” You teased.

He rolled his eyes. “Just group project. Not  _group project_. Now goodnight.” He turned over and you took that as your cue to stop talking and try to sleep as well.

* * *

You woke up to hear talking in the kitchen. Once you heard it was Yukhei and Renjun, you shot out of bed, terrified of the conversation that could be taking place. When you heard laughter, your fear somehow increased. Renjun had a lot of embarrassing stories from high school that you would prefer for Yukhei not to hear them just yet. You rounded the corner to find Renjun at the stove and Yukhei sitting at the bar.

“Well, good morning Sleeping Beauty. It’s about time you got up. Even sick kid got up before you.” Renjun pointed a spatula at the boy sitting across from him. “You know what, ___? I was quick to judge the guy. He’s funny. I still think he’s a little dumb.”

You opened your mouth to defend him but Yukhei’s laugh interrupted you. “I’m not dumb. I just don’t think sometimes, we went over this.”

“Hmm. Whatever you say. ___, you want eggs?” Renjun smiled at you.

“I guess? What’s going on?” You moved to sit next to Yukhei and instantly reached out to hold his hand, which he thankfully gave you without hesitation.  
Yukhei smiled at you. “I woke up and Renjun was making breakfast and offered to make me some. We’re friends now.”

Renjun’s eye seemed to twitch. While with most people, if you moderately get along, they are referred to as your friend. With Renjun, he calls a total of four people his friend. Emily just earned the title last movie night now that her and Jaemin have been dating for 6 months and she didn’t show any signs of leaving.

“Hey, are you feeling better.” You reached out to hold a hand to his forehead. You knew he was probably fine, but you still felt the need to check up on him.

He smiled at you and you swore that it could have lit up the room on it’s own. “I think I just needed to sleep it off. Thanks for letting me stay here and I’m sorry for running you out of your own bed.”

“No, it’s okay. I got to have a sleepover with Renjun. We haven’t done that in a long time, have we Junnie?”

“No. Because we live together. We don’t need to have sleepovers.” He put eggs on you and Yukhei’s plates and ate the rest out of the frying pan with his fork.

“How was your date?” Yukhei asked between bites.

Renjun shot you a death glare and you made a poor attempt to stifle your laugh. “It was a school project. And it was fine. We finished it all in one sitting. We did it on a Friday night so we could stay up all night to work on it if we needed to.”

Yukhei looked confused. “Why did you call it a date. It actually does sound like a group project.”

“I never called it a date. ___ called it a date.” Renjun put the pan in the sink and let out an exasperated sigh only to look up to find Yukhei smiling. He narrowed his eyes. “You did that on purpose.” He wagged his finger towards him. “You’re not as dumb as you look. I might be okay with ___ keeping you around. “

“Speaking of, ___, can we take a walk.” He sounded nervous which only made you nervous.

“Yeah, uh, let me get a jacket.” You got up, threw on a sweatshirt and followed Yukhei out the door.

You walked in relative silence until they got to a park, making your way down the trail and to a park bench by the water. A few kids were playing at a playground nearby and Yukhei smiled towards them. “So, I uh… I don’t really know how to start this.”

You felt your heart sink. You really was hoping the entire way over here that he wasn’t going to just call things off but the lack of conversation and awkward silence started to plant a seed of doubt.

“Look, I really like you. I honestly do. And I want to keep seeing you. I’m just at the point that I’m scared you’ve had enough of me continually messing things up. We’ve been on three dates and none of them have gone as planned. When I woke up in the middle of the night last night and you weren’t next to me, I was convinced that you were upset with me. So I guess this is me just saying that I want to keep having dates with you, even if they keep turning out poorly.” He sighed.

“I didn’t leave last night because I was frustrated with you. I left because Renjun gave me a hard time about sharing a bed with you on the third date.” You answered reaching out to grab his hands that were clasped in front of him. It forced him to look at you. “I don’t care that the dates keep going wrong because I have never thought that they were bad. I liked sneaking out of the restaurant. I thought that it was sweet that you were that upset over the ice cream. I loved eating pizza in the middle of the hallway because you burned the dinner you tried to cook for me. And I kinda liked taking care of you because you ate too many cookies. I’ve genuinely enjoyed every moment spent with you.”

He leaned over and kissed your nose. “If you are okay with dating someone who is cursed when it comes to dates, I would really like to keep seeing you.”

“I would like to keep seeing you, Yukhei.”

You walked back to your apartment hand in hand. Yukhei randomly stopping to give you a kiss on the cheek, nose, forehead, lips. Each time you would giggle and pull them to start walking again as to not hold up foot traffic since he insisted on stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. You spent the rest of the day together, and for the first time, nothing went wrong.

* * *

After your discussion that Saturday morning in the park, dates had been going much smoother. It didn’t have anything to do with the fact that things started going right after the fateful conversation. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Things still went horribly wrong but you were now at the point where neither of you cared.

Things were still the same. You would still go into the coffee shop and find pickup lines on your cups. And if it wasn’t that, it was cute notes to you if he knew you were having a particularly hard day.

One morning, you noticed “Will you be my girlfriend?” scrawled on the side of the cup. To which you scribbled yes on a napkin with a heart. Renjun thought it was lame, but you thought it was perfect.

A few months later it was also the way that Yukhei first told you he loved you. He doesn’t tell her, but he still has the napkin where you first wrote “I love you, too” tucked into his wallet. You did a lot of things this way. You also still had plenty of things go wrong, but for the two of you, it felt normal, almost right even. You took every misfortune in stride and were able to laugh in moments of frustration. Everything that should drive people apart, pushed you and Yukhei together. It would continue to be like that for a long time, much to Renjun’s pretend dismay.


End file.
